Hey! How is your week so far?

I know it’s only Tuesday, so hopefully it’s off to a fantastic start!

If you receive Treble in the Kitchen through e-mail, I apologize for a little mix up this morning!  I accidentally published tomorrow’s recipe TODAY.  I rescheduled that post to come up tomorrow, so everything should be great now 🙂

Today, I have a super tasty and SIMPLE recipe to share with you featuring a favorite product of mine…Vega!

A couple of weeks ago, the folks over at Vega reached out to me asking if they could send me some of their protein powder to try out and to create a recipe with.  Considering the fact that I had a bag of a DIFFERENT Vega protein powder sitting in my cabinet, I didn’t even have to think twice about saying yes!

I circulate through many different brands of protein powders, but Vega is one of my favorite.  I love that it has a smooth texture making it great to mix into smoothies and oatmeal the flavor is really great AND these powders are chock-full of veggies.  Can’t complain there 🙂

When I first received the Vega One protein powder I tested out their Pumpkin Pie Smoothie and LOVED it!

While I adore my smoothies, I wanted to experiment with Vega One in energy bar/bite form rather than a smoothie.  I love having little bars and bites on hand for a quick grab and go as a little something to eat before early morning workouts and around 3pm when the occasional snack monster starts to creep in.

The end result was an oat filled mini bar that tastes great and is perfect when you “need a little something…”

No Bake Pumpkin Spice Energy Bars

Yields: 16 Bars

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup Vega One (or your favorite protein powder)
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Grease an 8×8 inch pan.
2. Combine all dry ingredients (oats, vega, nuts, coconut, raisins, spices) in a large bowl and mix together thoroughly.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the honey, almond butter, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract.
4. Add the honey and almond butter mixture to the oat mixture and mix until combined. (You may need to get your hands in there to mix it up all the way!)
5. Spread into the greased 8×8 inch pan and place in the freezer for 30-60 minutes to allow the bars to harden.
6. Remove the bars from the freezer and cut into 16 bars.
7. Store in an airtight container and enjoy!

I hope you have a happy Tuesday!